


Meeting the Wildfire

by Epher



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (it would only be really relevant if I continue this series), (the omegaverse is only mentioned once here so you can ignore it), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Blood and Gore, M/M, No real romance yet but again there will be if I keep going, Omegaverse, You don't have to know stuff about Skyrim to be able to understand this, alternate universe - skyrim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 17:05:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11467908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Epher/pseuds/Epher
Summary: Tendou's minding his own business until he's attacked by a dragon, and saved by the smallest Nord he's ever seen.Working title: "Making Friends with Sketchy Alchemists 101"





	Meeting the Wildfire

**Author's Note:**

> My first published Haikyuu fic!! I'm weak for rarepairs.
> 
> Note for people who aren't familiar with Skyrim races: there are human races (Nord, Imperial, Redguard, Breton) and mer/elf races (Bosmer/Wood, Altmer/High, Dunmer/Dark). I'll do my best to make it easy to understand as I go along.

Tendou needed a horse. He hated lugging his shit across Skyrim on foot. He was an alchemist, not an ox! Still, every time Ushijima offered one of his horses (for free, nonetheless!) Tendou waved it off, saying it was too troublesome to have to climb on and off every few seconds to gather ingredients. That was true, but his aching legs begged to differ at the moment.

Maybe he'd be able to enjoy Skyrim's beautiful scenery if he were on horseback. The plains and nearby mountains of this area were breathtaking, as was most of Skyrim. Tendou found it hard to admire it while his dragging feet tripped over the stones that made up the road.

Then again, he'd probably get too distracted by nature to pay attention to finding ingredients. His people had a strong relationship with the natural environment. He had never been a strict follower of Bosmer cultural values, but it was hard not to be captivated by Skyrim's beauty.

He was pulled from his thoughts by a distant roar that sounded suspiciously like a dragon. He eyed the mountains to his left, past the plains and river. Though magnificent, mountains were perfect for hiding dragons and their lairs. Perhaps he should hurry up towards that farm up ahead...

The large beast flew around the mountain and headed straight towards him. Tendou cursed, diving behind a boulder a few feet back and hoping the dragon didn't spot him from that distance. As much as he loved his awesome blood-red hair, it was a nuisance when trying to hide. He might want to invest in a helmet, or maybe a hood.

The roaring got louder, and Tendou could now hear the loud _whoosh_ of the dragon's wings as it raced his way. Maybe the dragon would pass by him...

And of course it didn't, it was circling around Tendou's boulder as if taunting him, telling him that it saw. He could feel the wind from its wings as it heaved its massive body through the air, and its black scales glistened every color of the rainbow under the sun's rays.

Tendou cursed again and opened the front of his robes. He glanced at the rows of bottles and ingredients tucked in pockets on the inside of the garment, pondering his options. He had enough poison to kill the dragon, no doubt, but he _really_ didn't want to use it. That stuff was hard to make, or at least the ingredients were hard to get. Besides, all the coin he could get if he sold it? If he wasted it all on this dragon, it would be like getting robbed.

The ground shook as the beast landed a few meters away from his boulder, knocking Tendou onto the grass and rocks under him. He pulled the bow off of his back and grabbed an arrow, hesitating to let a few curses out before he uncorked a poison and dipped the arrow. Once the bottle was back in its pocket, Tendou took a deep breath. On the exhale, he drew the arrow and stood up to look over the boulder.

The dragon was crawling awkwardly toward him, and the rocks shifted under Tendou's feet from the vibration. Once it saw the alchemist, it sucked in a breath.

Tendou didn't wait for whatever bullshit was about to leave the dragon's throat. He aimed for the mouth, released the arrow, then ducked just in time to escape the wall of flames. He winced as the exposed skin on his face burned from the heat.

As soon as the fire stopped, Tendou jumped up to check on his progress. The dragon wasn't moving toward him anymore, but it seemed infuriatingly uninjured. When it opened its mouth to prepare for another onslaught of fire, Tendou could see no trace of blood or arrow. He had missed.

He ducked again, screaming along with the dragon this time. "FUCK!" He beat the ground and ripped out a few handfuls of grass. That was valuable poison, and he had wasted it. Since when does Tendou Satori, infamous alchemist and archer across Skyrim, _miss_? For the millionth time in his life, he could feel the disappointment of his ancestors. Bosmer were supposed to be the best marksmen of all the races, dammit!

The dragon's roar hitched, and the flames stopped momentarily. A long, shrill, human yell sounded, and Tendou peeked over the boulder to see if it was a distress call or a battle cry. It seemed to be the latter, and Tendou saw a blur of orange and brown. Was that a child? No, it couldn't have been. They were small, yes, but the person suddenly launched themselves onto the dragon's neck, crawled up to its head, pulled a dagger from their side and stabbed it in the eye.

Tendou ducked as the dragon wildly roared fire. Should he go help? Should he poison another arrow? What if he missed -- again -- and hit the person? He risked another look over the boulder, just in time to see the person reach around the dragon's neck with a dagger in each hand, slicing its throat with a deadly, swift motion. They tumbled off as it let out its final roar before falling with a hard _thud_ that shook the ground.

The dragon was dead.

Tendou's body went limp, and he slid down the boulder to the ground. How had he missed that shot? He had used his best poison, and he missed. Had he gone rusty since those years of hard training? If that kid hadn't shown up...

Tendou peeked around the boulder again. That was definitely men's armor, even if it was a tad bit smaller than Tendou normally saw. The guy on the ground watched him curiously, panting softly and leaning forward over his knees. He kind of looked like a Nord, but he was smaller than any Nord he'd ever seen. The sun lit up his orange hair like fire, and Tendou hummed thoughtfully. He didn't come across other redheads often.

"Hey!" The guy called, waving over to him. His voice wasn't childlike, but it wasn't entirely deep either. Perhaps this was an omega. Omegas tended to be smaller and softer, even as adults. He probably wouldn't be able to tell with the stench of the dragon's blood covering up their scents.

Tendou put his bow on his back and made his way over to the stranger. "Thanks," he said.

The guy smiled up at him, his eyes squinted against the sun, and Tendou couldn't help but smile at how cute he looked. "I'm glad I got here in time."

"Me too." Tendou held out a hand to help him up. He was lightweight, unsurprisingly. "How old are you?"

The guy looked at Tendou strangely. "I'm twenty-three. Why do you ask?"

Twenty-three. "Huh. You looked like a kid when I first saw you. You're only a few years younger than me, though." Tendou ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Anyway, I'm Tendou."

The guy's bright smile was back. "I'm Hinata." He then looked away and pouted. "I guess I do look kinda young. Not many warriors as small as me." 

Tendou knew what he was about to say was rude, but he didn't care. "Aren't Nords supposed to be descended from Giants or something?"

Hinata glared at him, but Tendou didn't feel threatened at all and wasn't prepared for when he said, "Aren't Wood Elves supposed to be good archers?"

 _Ouch._ Tendou winced, then looked down, avoiding eye contact. "Alright."

It was quiet for a few seconds, then Hinata spoke, apparently having gotten over the insults. "Anyway, do you want to crack open this dragon and take the goods to Whiterun? We can split the coin."

Tendou looked back up at him and raised his eyebrows. "You were the one that killed it, though."

Hinata shook his head. "But we both saw it. I wouldn't have been able to kill it so easily if it weren't distracted by you! Besides, dragon bones are heavy. I couldn't carry it all to Whiterun on my own."

Well, Tendou wasn't one to argue his way out of a fortune. "Sure thing." He looked at the massive heap of dragon. "What will we carry it with?" He mused.

Hinata hummed, then pointed at the farm down the road. "Maybe they'll give us some bags?" Tendou nodded, and Hinata took off in a jog over to the farm. Tendou watched as Hinata knocked on the door and talked to the farmer who had taken cover during the attack, then paid him once he received the bags. Tendou pursed his lips. Who _pays_ for potato sacks? The farmer wouldn't have known they were even gone...

Tendou shook his head and unsheathed his dagger to begin skinning the scales off the beast. They were beautiful and valuable, as all dragon scales were. Even with splitting the gold, Tendou wouldn't have to worry about money for a while.

When Hinata returned, he made a strange squawking sound. "Is that an _ebony_ dagger?! Where'd you get that?!"

Tendou pulled the bloody dagger away from the dragon to examine it thoughtfully. Its black blade shone crimson from the blood. "I can't remember."

"What?! You can't remember?!"

Tendou shrugged and got back to work. "That happens sometimes. Being an alchemist in my line of work makes enemies. Enemies with magic that can mess with your head, even."

Hinata was quiet for a few seconds, and when Tendou glanced up, he had pursed his lips. "You seem pretty...aloof."

"People tend to describe me that way." Tendou blinked his wide eyes as he studied Hinata's reaction to what he was about to say. "Most say it makes me suspicious."

Hinata looked to the side as he considered this, then shrugged. "I can see why they say that. And speaking of, what did you mean by 'alchemist _in your line of work_?'"

Tendou wrinkled his nose. He supposed it wasn't the end of the world to tell this guy what he did. "I don't just make your basic potions and poisons and remedies you'd find in a shop. I make stuff that's _really_ hard to get ahold of. I've made stuff most people don't even know exists, and for good reason. I get commissioned by mages, royals, powerful guild leaders... let's just say, _people in high places_. Some people don't like what I do. Or at least, they don't like the idea of my potions getting into the wrong hands. Hence why I'll have a mage come after me every now and then."

While Tendou talked, Hinata knelt down near the dragon's tail and started skinning. "So you don't remember what happens when they go at you?"

"Sometimes. It depends on the mage and spell. There's kinds that make you think everything's out to get you, kinds that make you think nothing's wrong at all, kinds that make the mage invisible to you..."

Hinata looked terrified. "And you can fight them? How?"

Tendou shrugged. "Usually when I scuffle with a mage like that, I just take what I know about illusion magic and make my best guess about what's true and what's false. It's a blind guess sometimes, but I'm usually pretty good, at guessing in general. Some people call me the Guess Monster. Not sure how I feel about it, but..." Tendou shrugged again.

"People talk about you a lot, huh."

Tendou smiled coldly. "Yeah. Usually it's not very good words, but what can I say. People talk."

Hinata was quiet, and Tendou glanced up at him. "What's your story, wildfire? Do you go around killing dragons or something?"

Hinata smiled and looked down. He had dimples. Interesting. "Kinda. I'm actually just an adventurer. I go place to place and ask people if they need anything, like a lost valuable or missing person or pesky beast they need to kill. I've chased down thieves and kidnappers and cleared areas of undead or other bad stuff. My favorite is asking scholars and mages, they always have really cool stuff for me to do." Hinata grinned. "Not a mage myself, but magic is fascinating."

Tendou huffed. "Fascinating, but annoying to deal with from the other side of the fight."

Hinata laughed. His laugh was bright and cute, Tendou noticed. "Yeah, it's thrilling. I'm always up for a challenge, though."

Hinata blabbed the entire rest of the time they harvested the dragon, seemingly unfazed by the blood and gore. They had to shed their top layer of clothing before digging for the bones, and thankfully Hinata didn't comment on how skinny Tendou was. They filled their potato sacks with heavy bones and scales until they were full and the cloth seeped with dragon blood.

Once they were done and dressed, Tendou watched as Hinata tied his bag. He was so small...would he be able to carry that all the way to Whiterun? "You want to put some of those bones in my bag?"

Hinata looked up at Tendou, then his eyes flicked around as if confused. "Uh... I can carry it fine?"

"Oh." Tendou shrugged and hoisted his own bag over his shoulder, shifting it so it didn't smash his bow against his back uncomfortably. He watched curiously as Hinata lifted his own bag, grunting from the weight but otherwise unaffected. Interesting.

The half-hour walk to Whiterun was slow and quiet. As they neared the stable outside the city, their attention was caught by someone calling out to them.

"Hey, hey, hey! Is that Tendou Satori?!"

Tendou winced and suppressed the urge to run. Usually when someone recognized him, it wasn't good. But when he turned to face the stranger, he blinked in surprise. "Bokuto Koutarou?"

The Nord in question grinned ear to ear and trotted over to them, his blood-stained steel armor clanking as he did. "Bro! It's been years!"

Tendou and Hinata both dropped their heavy bags with relief. Before Tendou could get out a reply, he was lifted into very big arms. "Oh!" For the millionth time in his life, he was glad he used steel bottles on his potions instead of glass.

Bokuto set him down and slapped his shoulders roughly. "How've you been? Still doing your potions?"

Tendou coughed and nodded. _Man_ , that was a tight hug. "That's my living now. What about you, you really..." Tendou eyed Bokuto's torso, "buffed up."

Bokuto threw his head back and laughed. He always had a goofy laugh. "That's what happens when you become a Companion."

Tendou thought he heard a dying bird before realizing it was Hinata squawking in excitement. "You're a Companion?! They're like the coolest warrior guild in Skyrim! How did you get in?! Is that why you're so jacked?!"

Bokuto laughed again and ruffled Hinata's hair. Hinata really looked tiny compared to Bokuto, and it baffled Tendou that they were both Nords. "Yeah! I got in by tagging along on hunting trips until they thought I was good enough." He took his hand from Hinata's hair and offered it to him. "I'm Bokuto Koutarou."

Hinata shook it firmly, nodding up at him with a fierce smile. "Hinata Shouyou. It's an honor to meet you. How do you know Tendou?"

Bokuto grinned at Tendou. "We trained together in the Legion."

Hinata gaped between them. "You fought in the war?!"

Tendou shook his head quickly. "Just trained. We and some others quit after a while. Wanted more in life."

Bokuto smiled sadly, seemingly reminiscing about their parting. He then looked between Tendou and Hinata. "I see you're covered in blood."

Tendou smiled and nodded at Bokuto's steel armor. "You too."

Bokuto looked down, then waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, just a giant. They're giving the farms around here hell. Asahi and Aela did most of the work though. What about you two?"

"We killed a dragon!" Hinata shouted before Tendou could explain. He looked at Hinata curiously, wondering when _he_ became _we._

"A dragon?!" Bokuto jumped in surprise. "For real?!" He looked at Tendou, who shrugged pathetically. Tendou didn't exactly want to admit he had _missed_ an arrow to one of his old training buddies.

Thankfully, Hinata distracted Bokuto with wild exaggerations of what had happened (minus Tendou's missed shot), complete with sound effects. Tendou chuckled. This guy was cute.

When they were done enthusing about the dragon attack, Bokuto pointed to their bags. "Hey, do you want some help?" He was already moving to pick them both up when Tendou and Hinata stuttered.

"Uh -- those are --" Tendou's words faltered as Bokuto stood up with _both_ bags over his shoulders. "...kinda heavy."

Bokuto started walking towards the city gates. "Aah, no worries. This is nothing."

Tendou went to share a glance with Hinata, but the other guy was staring at Bokuto with amazement and something else Tendou couldn't place. He shrugged and followed after the Companion.

The guards nodded at them when they approached, and Tendou was glad he had Bokuto leading them. No chance of getting stopped if you had a Companion chaperone.

Not much had changed in Whiterun. It was still a happy little city, well-protected not only by the Companions but also by the seemingly watchful tower of Dragonsreach, where the Jarl lived and ruled. It reminded Tendou of a smaller, less intimidating version of the capitol city Solitude.

Only a few people gave Tendou weird stares as they made their way to Belethor's shop in the market. Tendou knew he was weird-looking (very few mer had hair as red as his), not to mention his special high-collared leather robes that held his potions made him stand out. He tended to scare children as he passed, and he had made peace with that.

Bokuto set the bags down by the door of the shop and smiled at them. "Well good luck." Tendou braced himself as Bokuto lifted him into another crushing hug, then set him down to shake Hinata's hand again. "Feel free to drop by Jorrvaskr anytime. We'll fill your belly with mead in return for some stories. I'm sure you have a lot. You seem like you make a powerful pair."

Hinata rubbed the back of his head and chuckled shyly. "Actually, we met through that dragon earlier."

Bokuto looked between them. "Oh." He seemed genuinely surprised. "Well." He opened his arms for another hug, and Tendou sighed. How many more of these must he suffer? When he was hauled up, though, Bokuto whispered, "Hang onto this one, buddy."

Tendou blinked. Bokuto set him down then looked him in the eye and nodded. Tendou nodded back, though he wasn't exactly sure what he was responding to.

They dragged the bags of loot into the store and drained the flustered shopkeeper of all his gold. Once they had split the coin between them and stepped back out into the market, Hinata faltered.

"Uh, hey Tendou..." Tendou turned to him curiously, watching him fiddle around with his hair and leather armor. "I was thinking about what Bokuto said, about us being a powerful pair..." Tendou suddenly found himself looking into his intense amber eyes. "What do you think about traveling together?"

Tendou blinked as the question sunk in. Traveling together? Tendou had never had a travel buddy before. There weren't many people who enjoyed wandering around Skyrim in search of ingredients. But Hinata also wandered around Skyrim, just in search of other things like adventure. He could probably get a lot of good ingredients while digging around in dungeons and ruins, too. He smiled and nodded down at Hinata. "Sure thing, wildfire."

Hinata beamed that disarmingly sunny smile, and Tendou was sure he could get used to this.

**Author's Note:**

> Might possibly make this into a series! Please tell me what you think, I live for comments. Also feel free to yell with me about this AU my tumblr is ao3-epher


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